Watch-barrel.



No. 832,672. PATENTBD OCT. 9, 1906.

S. R. HOFFMEIER.

WATGH BARREL. APPLICATION FILED 001224. 1904.

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PATENTED OUT. 9, 1906.

s. R. HOPFMEiER. WATCH BARREL.

APPLICATION FILED 00124, 1904.

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PATENTED OCT. 9, 1906.

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S. R. HOFFMEIER.

APPLICATION FILED 00124, 1904.

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PATENTED OCT. 9, 1906.

S. R. HOFPMEIEB. WATCH BARREL. urmolnox F'IIJED 00124, 1904.

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'my invention.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SAMUEL R. HOFFMEIER, OF EAST HEMPFIELD TOWVNSHIP, LANCASTER COUNTY,PENNSYLVANIA. ASSIGNOR TO HAMILTON WATCH COMPANY, OF LANCASTER,PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

WATCH-BARREL.

Patented Oct. 9, 1906.

Application filed October 24, 1904- Serial No. 229,809-

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, SAMUEL R. HOFFMEIER, a citizen of the United States,residing in East Hempfield townshi in the county of Lancaster and State0 Penns lvania, have invented certain new and usefiil Improvements inWatch-Barrels; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame.

The object of my invention is to enable watch-barrels of the type inwhich the main wheel is attached to and rotates with the arbor to bebodily removed from the movement intact and without any disturbance ofthe time-train, and more particularly to enable the main arbor to bejeweled, so that there need be no disturbance of the position of the.jewels when it is desired to remove the barrel from the movement; and tothese ends and others of less importance, but that'will hereinafterappear, my invention consists in the construction and arrangement ofparts, substantially as hereinafter specified and claimed.

In the accompan 'ng drawings, Figure 1 is a top plan view 0 awatch-movement embodying my invention; Fig. 2, a similar view with thebridge of the main arbor removed for the removal of the barrel. Fig. 3is a plan view of the under side of said bridge; Fig. 4, a section in aplane parallel with the main-arbor axis and passing through thejewel-bearings thereof. Fig. 5 is a similar section, on a larger scale,showing my invention adapted to a safety-barrel Fig. 6, a view similarto Fig. 5, showing the invention embodied in a barrel of different typeFig. 7, a detail plan view of the bridge jewel-bearing; Fig. 8, a detailplan view of the central portion of the main wheel. Figs 9'and 9 arerespectively plan views from opposite ends of the main-wheel-clampingnut in the safetybarrel embodiment of my invention. Figs. 10 and 10" arelike views of the hub or arbor bushing to which the winding-wheel is attached in the safetybarrel embodiment of Figs. 11 and 11 are plan viewsof opposite ends of the corresponding part in the embodiment of myinvention shown in Fig. 6. Figs. 12 and 12 are plan views of oppositeends of the main-wheelof the spring-containing drum or shell of thesafety-barrel embodiment of my invention. Fig. 14 is a vertical sectioncorresponding to Fig. 13 i and illustrating the other embodiment of myinvention shown in Fig. 6. Figs. 14 and 14 are respectively plan viewsfrom opposite sides of the main wheel illustrated in Fig. 1 1. Figs. 14and 14, respectively, are plan views from opposite sides of the lowerportion of the structure shown in Fig. 14.

In the embodiment of my invention shown in Figs. 1 to 5 the main wheelA, in the form of a cup, has on its periphery spur-teeth a, and it ismounted upon a mam rotatable arbor B, so as to rotate'therewith, bybeing I clamped at the center of its head between a flange 5 of thearbor seated in an annular recess in the outer side of the Wheel and anut C, engaging a threaded portion 1) of the arbor and abutting againstthe inner side of the wheel-head, the arbor having between its threadedportion and the flange 6 a portion 1)", whose opposite sides areflattened, and which portion is engaged by a similarlyshaped opening inthe main-wheel head. On its periphery the nut C has a hook c of usualform to engage the end of the inner coil of the mainspring F, the end ofthe outer coil of said spring being engaged with the inner periphery ofthe safety drum or shell E, said drum or shell comprising a head 6 andring 6, I

that projects into the main wheel and has a hook or spur c for engagingthe mainspring and a hub 6 4 Interposed between the hub e of the safetydrum or shell and the arbor B is a bushing d, that extends into the drumor shell, where it is enlarged or provided with a flange d to overlapthe head 6 on the inside, and encircling the opposite end of saidbushing, where it projects beyond the hub 6 is a winding and ratchetwheel G. Screws (1 pass through openings 9 in said wheel, with theirheads seated in enlargements g of such holes, and through holes 0 in thehub e and engage threaded holes'cl in the flange or enlargement d of thebushing 01. The ortion of the bushing d engaged by the whee hasflattened sides, and the openin of the wheel Gris similarly shaped. Itwill e seen that the wheel G and the drum or shell E are united tojournaled in the jewel mounted, as shown, in a setting B secured byscrews BF to a pillar- I plate'B and the pivot 12 at the other endof thearbor B is journaled in a jewel mounted in a' setting B, secured byscrews B in a bridge-plate B''. that extends across an opening bcut inthe top plate B to accommodate the barrel, said opening if having suchsize as to permit the passage therethrough of the barrel, thebridge-plate being secured to the top plate B by two screws B The wheelG,

it is to be noted, lies between the pillar-plate B and the main wheel,and as said wheel G and all the other parts of the barrel are carried bythe main arbor B it will be seen that when the bridge-plate B is removedthe whole barrel, including all the parts carried 1 by the arbor B, maybe removed without any derangement of the parts of the time-train beingnecessary and with no disturbance of the position of either of thejewel-bearings, because that one carried by the bridge-plate B is merelylifted off the arbor-pivot when the bridgelate is lifted off and thearborpivot. b is simply lifted out of its jewel-bearmg.

In the embodiment of my invention illustrated'in Fig. 6 and Figs. 14 to14 the main wheel H and the arbor I are similar to the main wheelA andthe arbor B, (illustrated-in Fig. 5,) and the two are secured togetherin a similar manner, so that the main wheel revolves with the arbor. Theinner coil of the mainspring' L, however, is not attached to theclamping-nut J, but to an annular projection k'f'rom the bushing kcorresponding to the bushing 01, (shown in Fi 5,) and which annularprojection encircles t e nut J. The outer coi oi the mainspring in theconstruction illustrated in Fig. 5 is attached to the main wheel insteadof to a ring or band correspondingto the ring or band e, (shown in Fig.5,) there being employed in the construction illustrated in Fig. 6instead of the shell or drum E a disk M, having a hub m, similar to thehub 0, (shown in Fig. 5,) through which hub screws N pass that secure aWheel N to the bushing-flange 7c, all precisely similar to theconstruction illustrated in Fi 5. The

pivots t and '5 respectively, of the arbor I are journaled'injewel-bearings in the-bridge I and the pillar-plate I respectively,precisely as in the case of the trated in Fig. 5.

construction illus- It will be understood that in cases of bothconstructions illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6 the wheel G or N, as the casemay be, is the winding-wheel and the teeth 9! or n, as the case may be,are utilized for engagement by. the usual pawl or ratchet. In the caseof the construction illustrated in Fig. 5 the revolution of thewinding-wheel G winds the spring through the connection of the band orring 6 therewith, the ower of the spring to revolve the main wheel beingapplied where its inner coil is attached to the nut C, while in the caseof the construction illustrated in Fig. 6 the winding-wheel N operatesto wind the spring through the connection of. the annular projection kwith the inner coil of the sprmg, and the power of the spring to revolvethe main wheel is applied directly to the main wheel through theconnection therewith of the outer coil of the mainspring. As has alreadybeen explained, as all the members or parts of the barrel are carried bythe main arbor the whole barrel constructlon may be removed from themovement and replaced intact or in an assembled condition, with nodisturbance of either of the j ewel-bearings or the other parts of thewatch'mechanism beyond the removal of the bridge, and in addition tothis when taken from the movement the barrel, may be separated, as shownin Figs. 13 and 14, into what are virtuallytwo members to give access tothe mainspring.

Besides the very important advantage of avoiding any disturbance of theposition of the jewels which is obtained from my construction, there isalso the advantage that the jewels do not rotate in winding themainspring, so that there is no friction onthe j ewels duringthe windingof the mainspring, the only friction on the jewels being when the mainwheel is revolved by the action of the mainspring, and I' have a goodlong bearing for the main wheel, so that the latter is firmly maintainedin position.

.While I have illustrated and described certain details of constructionin the embodiments of my invention which I' have selected forillustration, it of course is to be understood that the scope of myinvention, broadly considered, is not restricted to such details,because variations in the details of construction may be resorted towhich will involve no departure from the principle of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. The combination'of two movementi the other end of the arbor, a main wheel fixed to androtating with the arbor, a 'mainspring, and a winding wheel lyingbetween the bridge and said opposite movement-plate, said arbor, mainwheel, spring and Windingwheel being so connected together that all saidparts may be removed intact through said plate-opening from the platejewel-bearing when the bridge is removed.

2. The combination of a main wheel having a central circular recess inits head, and a non-circular recess, a main arbor having a flangefitting said circular recess, and a portion having flattened sides andsituated in said non-circular recess, and a nut on a threaded portion ofthe arbor contiguous to said flat-sided portion and clamping the mainwheel against said flange.

3. The combination of the main wheel, the arbor having pivots at itsopposite ends, a clamping-nut on the arbor Within the main wheel tosecure the main wheel and the arbor, a bushing j ournaled on the arborhaving an annular mainspring-engaging projection that encircles saidnut, a winding-wheel, and means connecting the winding-wheel and saidbushing.

4. The combination of a main Wheel, an arbor having pivots at itsopposite ends, means connecting the main wheel and the arbor so thatthey rotate together, a bushing journaled on the arbor, a winding-Wheel,a disk having a hub encircling said bushing, and screws passing throughsaid windin wheel and said hub and entering the bushmg.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

SAWUEL R. HOFFMEIER.

Witnesses:

CALVIN M. KENDIG, HARVEY B. LUTZ.

